I had a call from my freind Francis last night, asking me if I wanted to ride today. Since I spent the weekend painting my house I thought I deserved a day off !

Francis, also rides a KLX and we met two other guys on KTM 950 Adventures. We met up at a gas station which is just a few miles from Marty's house. Unfortunately, Marty was working today and wasn't able to join, I'm sure he'll recognize many of these spots.

I met Francis at a gas station around 11:30. My bike is on the right:


This cute girl happened to be on her way into the gas station, sorry the helmet is in the way.


Larry and JD showed up on time on the KTM's


Here's 3/4 of the motley crew, from left to right: Francis, JD, and Larry:


This picture was taken just as I got my bike down the hill after wrecking on the top. I wish I had taken a picture of the carnage, the poor KLX was sitting upside down on the very peak of the hill.


Francis after changing his mind on riding down the sandy hill. He's smarter than I am.


Larry:


Francis:


The KLX's were running circles around the KTM's in the sugar sand:




I had a great day of riding, we had soft sand, some hardpacked trails and a good bunch of guys. The bad news, I had about an hour ride home from the trails. On the way home I developed a horrible tap in the top end. Before I had a chance to pull over and check the bike I heard a loud pop from the engine, not the exhaust the engine. I lost power immediately, it was getting dark and I had no choice but to call a friend to pick me up.

I'm thinking, it's the compression release which Deej and EMS have had problems with. I spoke to Marty on the phone while waiting for my ride and he thought that could be a possibilty as well. I'm still under warranty, tommorrow I will pull the valve cover and take a look. Regardless of the problem, it's going to the dealer for warranty work.

The day did not end as well as I would have liked, but over all I had a great day. I'd rather this happen now while I still have a warranty. I'll keep you all posted on the results.

 

Ahh, man! Sounds like a day of extreme highs and lows...

I'm glad that you're OK and got home without further problems.

This whole compression release thing has me a bit paranoid. Please keep us posted. How many miles on your bike?

Willum
TC

 

Mike thanks for the pics, had a good time, even though I broke My camera. My thigh is swollen after getting off in the mud, but I think I will live for another ride... 400 plus pound bike + street tires = stuck!!!

 

Nice pics guys, thanks.

 

Great pics sully - but the ending sux!!! If your compression release is the culprit I wonder if we should all start complaining very loudly and demand a RECALL!!! Kawi needs to get that thing fixed. Maybe this is the KLX's version of the KLR's "doohickey". Larry Roesler's favorite cam is looking pretty good right now

 

I hope they get it fixed soon, I have 4 more years on my warranty, 4 years and one month to be exact, and I will make them change it out until they get it right.[:@]

 

i just dont wanna talk about that doohickey anymore......[:'(][:@]

 

Sullydirt,

Yep, I recognize the place where you gathered! I know it very well. Has some of the best fried chicken in the county. They also do an awesome facsimile of a Chile Rellano!

Looks like you found some of the spots I told you about! Remember, you wanted to hill climb! [sm=bounceybounce.gif]

I am more than mildly interested in hearing about what happened to your KLX! If it is indeen the KACR, I think we really need to organize here. One of, if not the biggest problem with the deaf ear on the Doohickey on the KLR is the fact that most folks repaired it themselves. Hard as it might be to understand, but in a large corporation, the amount of warranty work - or "rework" - comes under a special budget. If there are no reports from the DEALERSHIPS about having to do a large amount of work on a particular piece of the product, there is nothing wrong - in their opinion.

The way we can get their attention is to start documenting all the problems we are having. Anyone that has a problem with the KACR on a KLX should get receipts, making sure "KACR" is written on the service order. We then need to start writing to KHI about this - if it is a problem. Personally, if Sullydirt's problem is KACR related - which it sure does sound very likely - I think we need to start writing letters. If we have someone trained in writing poignant letters that get attention, I would ask that they step forward and start putting something together. It might sound old fashioned, but a letter to a corporation usually elicits a response. The person getting all those letters to respond to will get tired of having to respond to so many letters and they will start bringing up the problem in meetings. That is a sure fire method of getting attention for this problem.

Myself, I think I will order the Larry Roeseler Favorites cams next week!

I might play with the KACR and see about 'pinning' it open or just removing the mechanism.

More to follow.

 

Alright you guys got me going. In two weeks my one year warranty is up, I think I want to put two years on. #1 KARC, #2 I get a ton of brass and misc metal in my oil changes, #3 I hear a lot of tranny noise. I'm doing my 7500 mile checks this weekend(if not sooner). What shall I look for on the KARC?

 

Francis, I din't know you were on this forum yet. Here's a short video of you at the sandtrap.

Francis (AKA Jellyfish) in the sand